After 26 years of coaching varsity boys basketball, Derek Hoffman has made the decision to step down from his position as head coach. 

Hoffman said the main reasons he has decided to resign is because he has coached for so long and he wants to spend more time with his family.

Hoffman has spent 26 total years coaching at MHS, as well as two years as head coach. He is a one time District Champion, one time Conference Champion and two time District Coach of the Year. 

Alex Komorech, senior, said he’s a little sad about Hoffman’s retirement.

“The last 2 years he’s been a really good coach for me, and obviously like it won’t affect me because I’m a senior, but for some of the guys next year, I know it’ll be a little bit of a change,” Komorech said.

Komorech said one of his favorite memories with Hoffman was when they played a game against Webster Groves during his freshman year.

“We were not supposed to win at all. And then we actually ended up winning and in the Weight Room after we just started freaking out and having a bunch of fun and jumping around, so that was probably one of my favorites,” Komorech said.

Preston Loehr, senior, said he has known Hoffman his entire time at school through basketball. 

“I played all four years, but he became my coach my junior year when he took the head varsity job, so that’s when I really got to meet him and talk to him more frequently,” Loehr said.

Loehr said Hoffman is a great coach and encourages his players.

“He’s very uplifting to not just me, but to everybody on the team, so if you’re in a slump or anything, he’s always there to lift you back up and keep your confidence up,” Loehr said.

Hoffman said he has wanted to coach basketball since he was in high school. His former coaches Chris Bryan and Dave Porter and Uncle Jack inspired this decision.

“Those three were big influences on me and helped me fall in love with the sport,” Hoffman said.